Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mitel!sce!cognos!dgbt!andrew
From: andrew@dgbt.uucp (Andrew Patrick)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Tools for user interface RESEARCH
Summary: The ultimate tool is the person
Keywords: user interfaces, research, tools
Message-ID: <1085@dgbt.uucp>
Date: 18 May 89 20:40:06 GMT
References: <4128@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: andrew@dgbt.crc.dnd.ca (Andrew Patrick)
Organization: The Communications Research Centre, Ottawa, CANADA
Lines: 30

In article <4128@bgsuvax.UUCP> instone@bgsuvax.UUCP (Keith Instone) writes:
...
>So, I guess my question for all of you is:
>
>Has anyone made a generic tool for user interface research?
>
>  (defn. generic - runs on any system, supports any
>                   interaction style, easily configurable)
>
>    [note: 'generic' is approximately like 'standard', but I don't
>      want to scare anyone away by using the s-word. (^; ]
>
>If yes, what?
>If no, why not? Too hard? Nobody wants one? Waste of time?

An interesting question.  I'm not sure what you mean by a "tool for
interface research".  It sounds like you mean a tool for testing
interfaces.  That tool is the user -- the person.  The ultimate test
of any user interface is the opinions and behaviour of the user.
Thus, our generic "tool" is to sit people down and ask them what they
think, and measure what they do.

This research "tool" is rather expensive, but I'm not sure that any
other "tool" will do the job.

-- 
Andrew Patrick, Ph.D.         Communications Research Centre
  (613) 990-4675              Department of Communications, Ottawa, Canada
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